Selling Your Home
What is a short sale, and when does it make sense?
By Steve Lockhart
The short answer
When you owe more on the home than buyers will pay, you are carrying a gap. A short sale is the option where the lender accepts the sale price as settlement of the loan and releases the lien even though it is less than what you owe.
Full answer
When you owe more on the home than buyers will pay, you are carrying a gap. A short sale is the option where the lender accepts the sale price as settlement of the loan and releases the lien even though it is less than what you owe. When it works, it lets the home sell for its honest market price in an organized way instead of through a foreclosure process. It is not simple. The lender must agree, the approval requires a full documentation of hardship and value, the timeline tends to be longer, and the terms are the lender's to write. The seller's side needs solid representation and escrow that understand the short-sale process, because the lender's deadlines are nonnegotiable. There are also legal and tax lines: potential deficiency on the balance, whether Nevada's protections apply, and how forgiven debt is treated. Every short sale deserves the counsel of a knowledgeable professional before a commitment. When it fits, it is a dignified way out of a difficult corner, and getting it right starts by making sure it fits at all.
Go a little deeper
Frequently asked
Questions sellers often follow up on
Is a short sale better than a foreclosure?
For most people, yes, though it depends. A short sale usually harms credit less and lets the family direct the outcome rather than the courts. The tradeoff is the approval process and the requirement of a hardship. A qualified professional and a tax advisor will help confirm whether it fits.
Will I owe the lender the shortage?
That depends on the loan type, the lender, the Nevada debt protections, and the terms of the approval. Some short sales release the borrower, and some leave exposure. This is precisely where a Nevada attorney and a tax adviser should be in the room before any documents are signed.
Does the buyer's side still work normally?
The transaction itself is a normal sale at its core, but with the lender's approval layered on official, and a longer timeline. The listing agent and escrow carry extra work, and the buyer should understand the timeline before they write the offer.
The Lockhart Method
The Lockhart Method
Your Home | My Strategy | Proven Results
My strategy: verify the numbers before we name the destination. Payoff, value, urgency, and family timeline all belong on one page. If a short sale is the honest option, I build the exact team, attorney, tax adviser, escrow, and a lender experienced and manage the lender, calendar, and the communication start to close.
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